Laterally shiftable lock for securing containers on railway flat cars

ABSTRACT

A releasable lock carried by a corner support for a container on a railway flat car adapted to fit within an opening within the lower corner of the container for releasably securing the container thereon. The lock automatically secures the container upon the lowering of the container onto the corner support and is released by a vertical lifting of the container from the corner support upon a predetermined force exerted by the container against the lock upon the vertical lifting of the container. Means mount the lock on the corner support for a limited lateral or shifting movement relative to the container and the corner support to fit within various sizes of openings in the lower corner of containers thereby to accommodate containers having various sizes of openings in their lower corners.

United States Patent Boris S. Terlecky Saint Louis County, Mo.; Leonardus F. A. Grob, Bridgeton, Mo.

Inventors LATERALLY SHIFTABLE LOCK FOR SECURING CONTAINERS N RAILWAY FLAT CARS Claims, 12 Drawing Figs.

US. Cl 105/366,

248/119, 248/361 Int. Cl 361d /00 Field ofSearch 105/366, 368,

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,875,906 9/1932 Zarobsky 1. 292/74X 2,261,789 ll/l94l Andersen 292/74X 2.755,l20 7/1956 Young et al. 292/74 3,391,654 7/l968 Grob et al /366 Primary Examiner-Drayton E. Hoffman Attorney-Eugene N. Riddle ABSTRACT: A releasable lock carried by a corner support for a container on a railway flat car adapted to fit within an opening within the lower corner of the container for releasably securing the container thereon. The lock automatically secures the container upon the lowering of the container onto the corner support and is released by a vertical lifting of the container from the corner support upon a predetermined force exerted by the container against the lock upon the vertical lifting of the container. Means mount the lock on the corner support for a limited lateral or shifting movement relative to the container and the corner support to fit within various sizes of openings in the lower corner of containers thereby to accommodate containers having various sizes of openings PATENTED FEB23 I971 SHEET 1 0F 7 INVENTORS. BORIS S. TERLECKY LEONARDUS EAGROB ATTORNEY PATENTED FEB23 I97! SHEEI 2 OF 7 SHEET 3 [IF 7 PATENTEU FEB23 I971 PATENTEU FEB23 I97] 35651313 saw u 0F 7 FIG. 5.

PATENTEU FEB23 19?:

SHEET 5 OF 7 PATENTEU FEB23 lsn SHEET 5 or 7 PATENTEU mam 3565013 SHEET 7 0F 7 FIG. l2.

LATERALLY SHIFTABLE LOCK FOR SECURING CONTAINERS ON RAILWAY FLAT CARS CROSS-REFERENCE TO OTHER APPLICATION This application is a continuation-in-part of applicants copending application Ser. No. 7ll,373 filed Mar. 7, 1968, entitled Container Securing Means For Railway Flat Cars."

BACKGROUND AND DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Aforementioned copending application Ser. No. 711,373 discloses a releasable lock adapted to fit within an opening in the lower corner of the container and to automatically secure the container upon the lowering of the container onto the corner support. The releasable lock is mounted for pivotal movement in a vertical plane about a fixed horizontal axis and is released by a vertical lifting of the container from the corner support when a predetermined minimum upward force is exerted by the container.

The openings in the lower corners of different containers vary. The United States of America Standards Institute, formerly the American Standards Association, has adapted a standard corner fitting for a container with specified openings in the side and end of the corner fitting. However, some containers which are presently being used today have lower corner fittings which do not conform to the adopted corner fitting.

The present invention comprises a releasable lock for a corner support which is particularly adapted for fitting within openings of different sizes and locations. The lock is mounted on the corner support about a hinged axis so that the lock may shift or move in a direction generally parallel to the adjacent surface of a container when lateral forces are exerted against the lock. Thus, the lock may shift laterally to fit within an opening in the lower corner of a container. This feature adapts the container lock for fitting within a variety of openings in the lower corner fitting of a container.

In the accompanying drawings, in which one of various possible embodiments of the invention is illustrated,

FIG. 1 is a plan of a railway flat car having container corner supports mounted thereon for carrying containers;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged plan of a container support in erect position on the deck of the railway flat car and illustrating in broken lines the retracted position ofthe container support;

FIG. 3 is a side elevation of the container corner support shown in FIG. 2 with retracted and travel positions of the support being indicated in broken lines;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged end elevation of the container support in erect position on the deck of a railway flat car;

FIG. 5 is a view taken generally along line 5-5 of FIG. 4 and illustrating the locking means for engaging an opening in the lower corner of a container partially shown in broken lines seated on the support;

FIG. 6 is a view similar to FIG. 4 but showing the container being lowered onto the support and camming the locking means outwardly;

FIG. 7 is a view similar to FIG. 6 but showing the container being lifted from the flat car with a lifting force exceeding the predetermined minimum thereby to cam the locking means outwardly for releasing the container;

FIG. 8 is a section taken generally along line 8-8 of FIG. 4 but showing the releasable lock shifted laterally to accommodate a different sized opening in the lower corner of a container;

FIG. 9 is a side elevation of the releasable lock shown removed from the corner support;

FIG. 10 is an end elevation of the releasable lock shown in FIG. 9;

FIG. 11 is a section taken generally along line 11-11 on FIG. 9; and

FIG. 12 is an elevation looking generally from line 12-12 of FIG. 9.

Corresponding reference characters indicate corresponding parts throughout the several views of the drawings.

LII

Referring to the drawings for a better understanding of this invention and more particularly to FIG. 1, a railway flat car is generally indicated 10 and has a generally flat deck 12. An end guideway section generally indicated 14 is positioned between a bolster structure 16 and the adjacent end of the railway car. An intermediate guideway section generally indicated 18 is positioned between the bolster structures 16. Guideway sections 14, 18 are formed by spaced Z-members 20, 22 having a slot 24 therebetween as shown in FIG. 4. Mounted in slots 24 for sliding movement therealong are container supports generally indicated 26. Supports 26 may be releasably positioned at various positions along the length of guideway sections 14, 18 to adapt flat car 10 for carrying a plurality of containers of various lengths such as 10 feet, 20 feet, 24 feet, 30 feet, and 40 feet. It is to be understood that only one-half the length of flat car 10 is illustrated in FIG. I, the remaining length of the flat car being similar to that shown in FIG. 1.

As shown particularly in FIGS. 2 and 3, deck 12 has cutout portions 28 adjacent the ends of guideway sections 14, 18 and supports 26 are adapted to be folded to retracted positions within cutout portions 28 to form closures for the cutout portions whereby highway tractors may be driven over deck 12 when fiat car 10 is employed for the transport of trailers. Each container C has a lower corner fitting or cap 30 at each lower corner thereof. Each corner fitting 30 is generally rectangular in transverse and longitudinal cross sections and comprises a bottom wall 32, an upper wall 34, outer and inner sidewalls 36, 38 and end walls 40. Outer sidewall 36 has an elongate opening 42 therein as shown particularly in FIG. 5. An arcuate edge 44 defines the lower portion of elongate opening 42 and an arcuate edge 46 defines the upper portion of opening 42. Arcuate edges 44 and 46 are struck from a 1 inch radius.

Container support 26 comprises a lower base 48 adapted to rest on the upper surface of deck 12. An upper base or seat 50 supports the lower corner of a container C and a pair of connected vertical walls 52, 54 extend upwardly from seat 50. Sidewall 52 and end wall 54 are arranged in a right angular relation to each other and restrain the container against horizontal movement. For gripping container support 26, an elongate opening 55 may be provided in end wall 54 as shown in FIG. 4. For further details of container support 26, reference is made to copending application Ser. No. 565,420 filed Jul. 15, 1966, now Pat. No. 3,391,654 dated Jul. 9, I968, the entire disclosure of which is incorporated by this reference.

The present invention provides means to restrain the container against an upward vertical movement or lifting below a predetermined lifting force and provides a locking means which is adapted to fit within container openings of various sizes. The locking means is actuated without any manual actuation being required and comprises a locking member generally designated 56. Locking member 56 includes an upper generally vertical end portion 58 and a lower generally vertical end portion 60 which are connected by a generally horizontal web 62.

Sidewall 52 has an upwardly extending elongate slot 64 therein receiving upper end portion 58. An intermediate vertical web 66 of container support 26 extends between seat 50 and base 48. Web 66 has an opening 68 therein adjacent base 48 as shown in FIG. 8. Opening 68 is defined along its upper portion by arcuate edge 70. Lower end portion 60 of locking member 56 has a hook-shaped lower end 72 forming a hinged connection for locking member 56. Hook-shaped end 72 fits within opening 68 and has an upper arcuate seat 74 fitting in nested relation about arcuate edge 70 defining the upper portion of opening 68. The hinged connection permits locking member 56 to shift laterally in a direction generally parallel to the adjacent inner surface of sidewall 52 with arcuate seat 74 sliding along arcuate edge 70. In addition, locking member 56 pivots back and forth about end 72 in a direction perpendicular to the adjacent inner surface of sidewall 52. A block 76 is secured to base 48 after end 72 is inserted within opening 68 and prevents subsequent removal of end 72 from opening 68.

Continuously urging lock member 56 inwardly is a coiled spring 78 compressed between an upper seat 80 on the underside of horizontal web 62 and a lower seat 82 fitting within opening 84 of base 48. To protect spring 78 and to minimize tampering with spring 78, a plate 86 is secured over the open hollow area of container support 26 receiving spring 78. The lower edge of plate 86 is spaced from base 48 to provide an opening for foreign matter and the like. Extending inwardly from upper end portion 58 of locking member 56 is a protuberance generally indicated 90 and having an upper cam surface 92 and a lower cam surface 94. Protuberance 90 and upper portion 58 of lever 56 are adapted to extend within elongate slot 64 in side sidewall 52 as shown particularly in FIG. 5. Protuberance 90 also is received within opening 42 of the lower corner of container C as shown in FIG. 4 when the container is seated on seat 50 and extends a distance X of around 1 inch from the inner face of sidewall 52 as illustrated in FIG. 4. Container C, if properly centered on support 26, is spaced a distance Y of 541, inch from the inner face of sidewall 52 as shown in FIG. 4. Distance Y may be as high as zinch from the inner face of sidewall 52 when container C is not centered.

Lower cam surface 94 is spaced a distance of around Vzinch from the lower arcuate edge 44 defining opening 42 when container C is fully seated as shown in FIG. 4. Cam surface 94 is proportioned to be urged outwardly by contact with arcuate edge 44 at an optimum upward lifting force of around 1,500 pounds or between 1,000 and 2,000 pounds. It should be noted that an upward lifting force of 1,500 pounds would be required for each support 26 which would require a total lifting force for the container of 6,000 pounds.

As shown in FIG. 9, an upwardly inclined angle A of around 50 with respect to the horizontal has been found to be optimum for cam surface 94. An angle A of between 30 and 60 would function effectively. l-inch cam surface 94 engages the arcuate edge 44 defining opening 42, cam surface 94 is struck from a l-inch radius corresponding to the radius from which arcuate edge 44 is struck. Therefore, a relatively large surface contact is provided between cam surface 94 and arcuate edge 44 upon lifting of container C from railway car 10. While angle A increases as locking member 56 is urged outwardly, the resistance of spring 78 also increases to increase the resistance to the outward movement of locking member 56 thereby to compensate for the increase in angle A.

Upper cam surface 92 has an arcuate face as shown in FIG. ll which is engaged by the lower container wall 32 upon loading of the container as illustrated in FIG. 6. Cam surface 92 is proportioned so that locking member 56 will be forced outwardly by wall 32 by a force or weight of around 500 pounds. As four supports 26 are required for each container, a total weight of around 2,000 pounds would be required for seating of container C. An empty container of 20 feet long, 8 feet wide and 8 feet high weighs around 6,000 pounds. An angle B for cam surface 92 of around 50 with respect to the horizontal has been found to be optimum.

For loading, a container C is lowered onto supports 26 and the lower surfaces of walls 32 on the container corners contact upper cam surfaces 92 to urge locking members 56 outwardly. When openings 42 are aligned with protuberances 90, locking members 56 snap inwardly under the bias of springs 78 as shown in the fully seated position of the container shown in FIG. 4.

Upon unloading, container C is lifted from supports 26 and upon an upward movement of around Vail'lCl'l arcuate edges 44 engage cam surfaces 94 and container C is restrained against upward movement until a force of around 1,500 pounds is reached for each support 26. When the lifting force exceeds the predetermined force, locking members 56 are urged outwardly to withdraw protuberances 90 from openings 42 to permit container C to be removed.

The bias of spring 78 and the slope of lower cam surface 94 shown by angle A are so designed that more upward force is required to move locking member 56 outwardly than will result from wind loads and other design loads. However, the

force required to urge locking member 56 outwardly is relatively small in comparison to the forces which may be developed by a crane in lifting fully loaded containers.

Referring particularly to FIG. 8, a container C is illustrated having a lower corner fitting 30A with an outer sidewall 38A. Outer sidewall 38A has an opening 42A therein which is of dimensions different from the dimensions of opening 42 shown in FIG. 5 and is positioned at a different location relative to the outer sidewall of the container. Opening 42 is illustrated in broken lines in FIG. 8 as a comparison with opening 42A and is an A.S.A. (American Standards Association) standard size opening 3% inches in length and 2 inches in width while opening 42A is 2% inches in length and 2% inches in width. Further, opening 42A is closer to the end of container C than opening 42.

In order for protuberance to seat properly within opening 42A, locking member 56 must shift or rock within elongate slot 42 in a direction generally parallel to the adjacent inner face of wall 52. The hinged connection of seat 74 and adjacent edge 70 of intermediate web 66 permits locking member 56 to rock about edge 70 upon contact of arcuate cam portions 92 and 94 With the edge of wall 38A forming opening 42A. Protuberance 90 may move laterally with respect to the face of support wall 52 a distance D of around V2 inch or more as shown in FIG. 10 to accommodate such variations in container openings and to insure a full seating of protuberance 90.

In view of the above, it will be seen that the several objects of the invention are achieved and other advantageous results obtained.

We claim:

1. A railway flat car comprising a deck, a plurality of container supports each having a base on the deck, a container having lower corners supported on the container supports, each of said lower corners having an opening therein with an arcuate edge defining the lower portion of the opening, each container support having a generally horizontal seat to support the associated lower corner of the container and a pair of connected walls arranged in a right angular relation and extending upwardly from the seat to restrain the container against horizontal movement, a releasable locking member for each container support having an upper end extending through an opening in one of the walls, said upper end including a protuberance extending inwardly from said wall opening and adapted to extend into the adjacent container opening for restraining the container against removal from the associated support at a lifting force below a predetermined minimum lifting force, means urging the protuberance toward the container opening, said protuberance having an upwardly inclined lower cam surface for contacting said arcuate edge defining the lower portion of the associated container opening, said lower cam surface being generally arcuate in cross section to fit in a generally nested relation against said arcuate edge upon upward movement of the container, the upward movement of the container being restrained by said locking member until a predetermined minimum upward force is exceeded whereupon said locking member is urged outwardly by contact of said arcuate lower cam surface with the arcuate edge of the container corner defining the container opening, and means on the associated corner support adjacent the lower end of said locking member hinging the locking member for a limited rocking movement of the protuberance in a direction generally parallel to the inner surface of the associated wall.

2. A railway flat car as set forth in claim I wherein said lower cam surface is inclined upwardly at an angle between around 30 and 60 with respect to the horizontal.

3. A railway flat car as set forth in claim I wherein said container support includes an intermediate vertical web member having an opening therethrough, said locking member having its lower end extending within said web opening and hinged along an end of said web defining the wall opening for limited rocking movement of the protuberance in a direction generally parallel to the inner surface of the associated wall.

4. A railway flat car as set forth in claim 1 wherein a generally vertical upper end portion of said locking member is spaced outwardly from a generally vertical lower end portion thereof and a horizontal web connects the upper and lower end portions, said means urging the protuberance toward the container opening comprising a coil spring compressed between said horizontal web and the base of the associated container support to urge the protuberance toward the container opening.

5. A railway flat car comprising a deck, a plurality of container supports on the deck, each container support having a generally horizontal seat and a pair of connected walls arranged in a right angular relation and extending upwardly from the seat for restraining a container against horizontal movement, an upwardly extending releasable locking member mounted on each container support adjacent one of the walls, the upper portion of said locking member including a protuberance extending inwardly from one of said connected walls and adapted to extend into an opening in the container for restraining the container against removal from the associated support at a lifting force below a predetermined minimum lifting force, means on the container support mounting the locking member and protuberance for a generally pivotal movement in a direction generally perpendicularly to the inner surface of said adjacent one wall, said means further mounting the locking member for a limited rocking movement in a direction parallel to the inner surface of said adjacent one wall to permit the protuberance .to easily fit within container openings of different sizes, and means to urge the locking member and protuberance inwardly, said protuberance having an upwardly inclined lower cam surface adapted to contact an adjacent portion of the container corner for restraining an upward movement of the container until a predetermined minimum lifting force is reached, said locking member being urged outwardly by contact of said lower cam surface with the adjacent portion of the container corner when the minimum lifting force is exceeded. 

1. A railway flat car comprisinG a deck, a plurality of container supports each having a base on the deck, a container having lower corners supported on the container supports, each of said lower corners having an opening therein with an arcuate edge defining the lower portion of the opening, each container support having a generally horizontal seat to support the associated lower corner of the container and a pair of connected walls arranged in a right angular relation and extending upwardly from the seat to restrain the container against horizontal movement, a releasable locking member for each container support having an upper end extending through an opening in one of the walls, said upper end including a protuberance extending inwardly from said wall opening and adapted to extend into the adjacent container opening for restraining the container against removal from the associated support at a lifting force below a predetermined minimum lifting force, means urging the protuberance toward the container opening, said protuberance having an upwardly inclined lower cam surface for contacting said arcuate edge defining the lower portion of the associated container opening, said lower cam surface being generally arcuate in cross section to fit in a generally nested relation against said arcuate edge upon upward movement of the container, the upward movement of the container being restrained by said locking member until a predetermined minimum upward force is exceeded whereupon said locking member is urged outwardly by contact of said arcuate lower cam surface with the arcuate edge of the container corner defining the container opening, and means on the associated corner support adjacent the lower end of said locking member hinging the locking member for a limited rocking movement of the protuberance in a direction generally parallel to the inner surface of the associated wall.
 2. A railway flat car as set forth in claim 1 wherein said lower cam surface is inclined upwardly at an angle between around 30* and 60* with respect to the horizontal.
 3. A railway flat car as set forth in claim 1 wherein said container support includes an intermediate vertical web member having an opening therethrough, said locking member having its lower end extending within said web opening and hinged along an end of said web defining the wall opening for limited rocking movement of the protuberance in a direction generally parallel to the inner surface of the associated wall.
 4. A railway flat car as set forth in claim 1 wherein a generally vertical upper end portion of said locking member is spaced outwardly from a generally vertical lower end portion thereof and a horizontal web connects the upper and lower end portions, said means urging the protuberance toward the container opening comprising a coil spring compressed between said horizontal web and the base of the associated container support to urge the protuberance toward the container opening.
 5. A railway flat car comprising a deck, a plurality of container supports on the deck, each container support having a generally horizontal seat and a pair of connected walls arranged in a right angular relation and extending upwardly from the seat for restraining a container against horizontal movement, an upwardly extending releasable locking member mounted on each container support adjacent one of the walls, the upper portion of said locking member including a protuberance extending inwardly from one of said connected walls and adapted to extend into an opening in the container for restraining the container against removal from the associated support at a lifting force below a predetermined minimum lifting force, means on the container support mounting the locking member and protuberance for a generally pivotal movement in a direction generally perpendicularly to the inner surface of said adjacent one wall, said means further mounting the locking member for a limited rocking movement in a direction parallel to the inner surface of said adjacent one wall to permit the protuberance to easily fit within container openings of different sizes, and means to urge the locking member and protuberance inwardly, said protuberance having an upwardly inclined lower cam surface adapted to contact an adjacent portion of the container corner for restraining an upward movement of the container until a predetermined minimum lifting force is reached, said locking member being urged outwardly by contact of said lower cam surface with the adjacent portion of the container corner when the minimum lifting force is exceeded. 